Open AccessAnalysis of electric cigarette liquid effect on mouse brain tumor growth through EGFR and ERK activation
Author(s) -
Hyung Joon Kwon,
Young Taek Oh,
Saewhan Park,
Sung Soo Kim,
Jinju Park,
Jinlong Yin,
Jun Hee Hong,
Chan Il Kim,
Haseo Ryu,
Jong Bae Park,
Min Kyung Lim
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0256730
Subject(s) - immunohistochemistry , staining , western blot , medicine , brain tumor , blot , h&e stain , pathology , mapk/erk pathway , cancer research , signal transduction , chemistry , biochemistry , gene
Recently, electric cigarettes with liquid (e-liquid) were introduced as an alternative to tobacco smoking. They were promoted as possible cessation aids and were considered to be potentially less harmful than traditional tobacco-based cigarettes. However, there is little information on the toxicants present in e-liquids and their possible carcinogenic effects. Methods Western blot analysis was performed to identify the protein levels of cancer progression related signal transducers. Patient-derived brain tumor cells (CSC2) were injected into mouse brains and tumor growth was then observed by performing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of the whole brain. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining and Immunofluorescence staining were performed to study the expression of pEGFR and pERK. Results Western blotting revealed that e-liquids increased pEGFR and pERK expression in a dose dependent manner. Animal experiments revealed that the e-liquid treated group had accelerated tumor growth and poor prognosis compared to the vehicle group. Histological staining showed activation of pEGFR and pERK in the e-liquid treated group. Conclusion Our study revealed that e-liquid activates pEGFR and pERK, leading to accelerated brain tumor growth and poor prognosis.